ByHANNAH BROWN

JULY 4, 2026 04:23

Claude Lanzmann's Shoah stands as the landmark documentary on the Holocaust. Even with its widespread screenings and numerous awards over four decades since release, Lanzmann encountered major obstacles in completing the project.

The documentary All I Had Was Nothingness by Guillaume Ribot examines this process and streams on Hot VOD, Next TV, Hot 8, Yes VOD, and Yes Docu.

It serves as a vital companion to Shoah. Ribot draws on Lanzmann's audio recordings and journals, voiced by the director himself, to trace the film's 12-year path to completion, while incorporating important unused footage.

The film unfolds like a road documentary, tracking Lanzmann across routes in Germany, Poland, Israel, and the US.

"Creating Shoah involved a prolonged and tough fight," Lanzmann stated. "I aimed to shoot, yet all I possessed was emptiness. The core of Shoah is death... Some nights it felt like pointless pain, and I nearly abandoned it. Yet over those 12 years, I compelled myself to gaze steadily into the dark heart of the Shoah."

Lanzmann observed that "Not a single American dollar supported Shoah," since it focused strictly on death without hopeful tales of rescuers or escapes.

"I proved a poor fundraiser," he conceded.

For viewers touched by Shoah, this account of its creation proves absorbing.

The Bear

The Bear, streaming on Disney+, which prompted global viewers to echo "Yes, chef!" has launched its fifth and concluding season. It delivers the mix of crises and pleasures fans anticipate.

The Bear follows Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a tense and reserved culinary expert who has worked in top kitchens worldwide, from Copenhagen to New York.

The opening season begins with his return to Chicago, where his family runs a sandwich shop once led by his magnetic brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal). Mikey battled substance issues and recently ended his life in a tragic manner (not depicted).

Carmy assumes control of the struggling shop, near collapse, and transforms it into The Bear, an upscale dining spot.

Viewers who started the first season but stopped can relate to the chaos. The sandwich shop reflects Carmy's troubled family dynamics and the early traumas he addresses through kitchen precision.

This leads to numerous scenes of characters shouting in frustration as his past emerges gradually.

Many quit before grasping the characters and their tensions. I nearly did too, yet Carmy's underlying appeal kept me watching.

I generally dislike advice that a show improves after initial episodes.

The main exception remains The Wire, though The Bear qualifies as well. Persevering leads to a superb second season, among the most engaging and well-performed seasons in recent memory.

The series then varied in quality. The third season felt brief and uneven, with strong moments but others centered more on cuisine than people. It recovered in the fourth, and the fifth delivers a strong finish.

Minor spoilers follow for those yet to watch.

Season four closed with Carmy informing talented chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), who shares his drive for excellence, that she will lead as he departs the restaurant he built.

Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), his brother's close friend who manages hospitality and calls himself family, reacts with surprise but reassures Sydney she can succeed without Carmy.

The fifth season opens the next day, with the first seven episodes unfolding during one chaotic shift at The Bear.

A severe storm hits on the night staff learns a Michelin inspector will visit, while a booking error triples the expected diners.

Carmy's earlier rule against repeating dishes, requiring daily fresh ingredients, has pushed the restaurant toward insolvency.

Carmy recognized the mistake, yet supplies remain low. Backer Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) withdraws funding.

The narrative centers on the team uniting as a family to meet the crisis.

Under pressure, the staff rises, creating humorous, emotional, and tense scenes that keep viewers engaged. Prior setbacks make a true closure plausible.

Following the seven episodes of that night's events, a satisfying later episode after a time jump suggests Carmy might remain.

It reunites the cast, including Jamie Lee Curtis in her acclaimed role as Carmy's troubled mother, which earned her an Emmy among the show's 21 total.

Those raised by a parent with mental health challenges can point others to season two, episode five, titled "Fishes," featuring Curtis.

Many appreciate creator Christopher Storer for this contribution.

One absent cast member is Rob Reiner, who portrayed business advisor Albert Schnurr. Reiner was killed by his son in December prior to filming the fifth season.

Albert assisted Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), a Somali refugee and veteran at the Original Beef window that persists alongside the fine-dining shift, in planning a franchise.

Ebraheim consults him by phone in the fifth season and replies with "As you wish," a nod to Reiner's film The Princess Bride.

Betrayal

Betrayal, on Hot VOD and Yes VOD (later on Hot 3 and Yes Action), holds timely interest as it examines a covert Iranian spy network in Britain.

It features Shaun Evans as an MI5 operative who receives a lead on an Iranian source and a potential attack.

He contends with skeptical superiors while trying to sustain his strained marriage. The title covers both spying and personal disloyalty.

The series predates the latest Iran conflict yet resonates as if crafted recently.